Conventionally, fusers used in image-forming apparatus have a heating roller and a belt looped around a section of the heating roller. Heating rollers are also referred to as fixing rollers. Generally, such a belt has multiple rollers arranged inside the loop formed by the belt. In addition to these rollers, one or more pads are disposed on the region facing the heating roller and come into contact with the belt. These pads are of a softer material than the belt material and are in a configuration that inclines away from the direction of sheet conveyance. In addition, such pads are pressed perpendicularly against the belt.
Nevertheless, after a long period of use, the pads wear down, and the distance between the downstream edge of the pad and the heating roller widens. As the gap between the pads and rollers widens, sheets may flutter and cause image distortion.